I’m so glad you shared the Terry Gross article! It was so helpful to me. I love phrases like “Tell me about yourself” and “What’s keeping you busy these days?” to get to know new people. As someone more introverted, having go-to questions in my back pocket makes it easier to be a good conversationalist.
Likewise, I think about how I would answer my own questions so that I can be prepared to contribute to the conversation. I am more comfortable asking questions, but I know that part of being a good conversationalist is sharing a little about myself.